in a moment of fractured time
by feedingtheflames
Summary: The stars all over the sky are glittering. If I were to extend my hand it seems as if it will reach them - Ashita, Hareru Kana. A series of unrelated one-shots revolving around Meichi (side Sorato).


Prompt: Meiko and Mimi work in a maid cafe.

"They're working at Café Callisto?"

Taichi's tongue pokes out in concentration, in the middle of his thirteenth attempt at using his straw to try and bring up the pesky ice cube that was hellbent on escaping him. Beside him, Yamato waits for Sora's response as she swallows her food.

"Mm, that's right. They've only been working there for two months but Meiko-chan told me that Mimi's already Assistant Manager. That's really impressive!" She waved her chopsticks as she spoke, a look of pride in her eyes.

Taichi and Yamato quickly exchange glances.

"Maybe she threatened the manager?" The blond barely stops himself from snorting as he elbows Taichi in the ribs, who forlornly watches the half-melted ice cube escape.

"_Taichi_!"

At Sora's scolding tone, the boy raises his arms in surrender.

"Okay okay, it was just a joke. I actually think it's impressive too! Is the food nice?"

"I don't know, I haven't been yet. I've heard it's really popular with students." Sora's expression brightens. "We should go together after school."

"Sounds like a plan." Taichi gives up on the straw and raises the glass to his mouth, crushing the ice with his teeth in satisfied relish.

"I can't go, I have band practice."

"Yamato, you always have band practice, can't you just miss _one_ day?"

"…fine."

When Sora takes a sip of her juice, Taichi nudges Yamato and mouths a word to him.

_Whipped._

"Ouch!"

The table rattles when Taichi's knee bashes into it, ankle twinging in discomfort from where the blond-haired boy had kicked it.

OoO

"Welcome home, Masters and Mistress!"

The trio are greeted by an overabundance of frills and lace in the form of a Maid, who leads them to a table with a cheerful smile.

As they wait for their drinks to arrive, Taichi looks over the place, gaze travelling over the bright interior, he could see a stairway no doubt leading to even more tables. Clearly, the café had swiftly gained popularity. However, it wasn't as busy as he thought it'd be, he'd expected swarms of single guys to loiter around a place full of pretty girls.

When the Maid comes back, he comments this to her.

"You should come in on the weekend, Master. It's _much_ busier then." She declares.

"Are Mimi and Meiko working today? We're friends with them." Sora asks, drinking her strawberry shake. "This is delicious, by the way."

"Thank you, Mistress. Mimi-sama is off today, but Meiko-chan is upstairs at the moment, I'm sure she'll come down soon. What will you have for dessert?"

As the girl flounces away after taking their orders, skirt bouncing with each step, Yamato and Taichi trade incredulous raised brows.

"Mimi-_sama_? Looks like she'll overtake the Manager soon…if she hasn't already." Yamato says, half-serious.

"Heh. You know, since we know them, we could try getting free food and drinks from Mimi and Mochizuki, right?"

"No way, Taichi. Do you want them to lose their jobs?" Sora looks at her empty glass before focusing on his. Realising what she was after, he quickly finishes his hot chocolate. Outdone, she turns to Yamato, who pushes his lemonade in her direction after a slight pause.

Seeing the other boy's smirk, Yamato glares, cheeks heating with slight discomfiture.

"What? I didn't want to drink anymore, that's all."

"Right, _sure_ you did."

"Ah, Meiko-chan!" Perking up at Sora's call, Taichi turns his head, not able to stop himself from gaping at the sight that greets him.

Mochizuki always dressed modestly, so seeing her in something so…revealing felt all too odd. A permanent blush was etched on her face, something Taichi rarely saw her without, but she was smiling warmly too, albeit in a self-conscious manner. The girl wasn't wearing her usual pantyhose, instead donning thigh-high black socks that left enough skin showing beneath her frilly skirt.

He glances away before he's caught staring.

As different as she looked, the outfit suited her well for some reason. And one glimpse around the room told him he was right, as a table of boys conversed with one another, eyeing her profile with interest.

"Hello. Tsugumi-san told me that you'd come. What do you think of the place so far?" She places their plates down with practised ease, Taichi's eyes zero in on the sticks of dango positioned in front of him.

"It's great!" Sora beams. "I'm going to come here all the time now."

"Mimi will be glad." Mochizuki giggles. "She came up with some of the menu herself."

"Really? I should ask for some recipes."

"That outfit looks uncomfortable." Yamato deadpans as a greeting.

"…well it comes with the job."

"Are you working this Saturday?" Taichi interrupts, ignoring the meaningful nudging his friends give each other.

"Ah, y-yes, yes I am." She answers, distracted by the sight of a customer waving her over, before meeting his eyes. "Sorry, I've got to tend to the customers."

"Please enjoy your meal, Masters and Mistress." She bows, hair falling over her shoulder, before turning to leave.

OoO

When Taichi next steps into Café Callisto, the place is filled to the brim with students and young salarymen.

There were more maids working today too, each of them doing their best to distribute equal attention between each of their customers.

"Bon Appetit!" A familiar voice calls somewhere to his left. He turns in time to see Mimi wagging her fingers playfully at a customer with a wink before moving onto the next person vying for her attention.

When she next turns around, she spots him and hurries over.

"Tai_chi_!" she grins. "Did you come here alone? You don't seem the type to wander into Maid Cafés."

"Aren't you supposed to greet me with 'Welcome home, Master'?"

Mimi flutters her hand in a careless manner.

"Pah, I'm the Assistant Manager, I'm more of a supervisor of the café than an actual maid. But in this case…" Without further ado, she grabs him by the arm and yanks him towards the staircase, through the crowd.

"Meimei's upstairs and it's less busy up there. That way, you'll be able to spend more time with her instead of having to watch her talk to other boys." Smirking now, she pushes him forward, almost making him topple into the steps.

"H-hey, watch it! Who said I wanted to see her? I just came for the desserts."

"Careful, if you keep acting like that you'll turn into a Tundra!" Shooting him a beatific smile, she strides off into the crowd with a bounce in her step.

"It's Tsundere." He mumbles to himself, trekking up the stairs.

OoO

Peering at the menu, Taichi hums thoughtfully. While he's seemingly cruising options, his attention is instead on the girl standing beside the bar next to his stool, all too aware of her proximity.

"Are you going to order now, Master?"

Ignoring the jolt in his stomach at the term she addresses him with, he fakes indecision, tapping his index finger on his chin.

"Man, they're all too good, I just can't make my mind up!"

A slight pout appears in a show of exasperation on Meiko's expression before she takes the menu from him.

"Fine, I'll order for you. I'll be back shortly." The uncharacteristically bold tone lures a smile from him and he raises two fingers in a mock salute.

"I'm counting on you Mochizuki."

Swivelling on his stool after she moves away, Taichi thinks to himself, pondering whether if he should ask Meiko if he could bike her home after her shift, considering they were next door neighbours, she'd agree, right?

Lost inside his head, Taichi almost doesn't realise that someone is watching him – or more specifically glowering menacingly at him. Sitting on a stool situated further down the bar, is a young man, a delinquent by the looks of it. Dressed in a black school uniform, his hair is styled into a pompadour and his hands are wrapped in torn strips of white cloth typically used for street fighting.

What an archetypal attire.

Heaving a sigh, the brunette breaks eye contact with him, maybe the guy was just looking for a fight? Maybe sending glares to strangers is an involuntary tic? _Maybe_ he's part of the Yakuza and being hostile is part of his contract? Either way, it's best to avoid conflict.

Distracted by the sound of nearing footsteps, Taichi has to stop himself from visibly drooling at the sight his eyes feast upon when a plate is presented to him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"What is this?" Comes his enthusiastic question.

"It's called Profiterole. It's really good, I thought you'd like it."

Already stuffing one of them into his mouth, he nods through the mouthful.

"Nice!" he says, swallowing.

"I'm glad you like it. I have to welcome more customers, so-"

"Hey, wait a sec." Unable to help himself, he grabs her hand as she's about to step away.

They both twitch at the electric sensation that ignites when their skin makes contact.

Mouth dry, he searches her face for any hint that she'd received the same jolt, smiling awkwardly when seeing her permanent blush deepen immensely.

"Um, want to ride home with me on my bike after you finish?" The words come out inelegantly.

"Oh." Her lips part in surprise. "I finish in an hour and a half. You don't have to wait that long."

"Nah, I don't mind." Seeing her hesitation, he makes himself clear. "Really, I want to."

"Alright then." Her eyes soften. "Enjoy your meal, Master."

OoO

Tapping his foot impatiently, Taichi waits at the entrance of the café. Most of the customers had left and the maids were essentially tidying up the place. Meiko had told him to wait outside while she changed out of her uniform, but he had been waiting for over 15 minutes now.

Was she okay?

Walking back in, he takes a detour to the back of the café, an ajar door with the word 'Staff Only' etched onto a plaque pipes his interest. Looking over his shoulder to see if anyone has noticed him, he sneaks in.

The door leads to an attached building that's surprisingly riddled with corridors, a bunch of signs on the ceiling tell him where to go.

As Taichi nears the office, voices can he heard in conflict, his jaw tightens at the sight of his girl trapped between a wall and the guy who was eying him earlier. Still dressed in her uniform, a mix of fear and resolute daring is in her frame as she tries pushing the taller figure away.

"I told you, touching the Maids in strictly forbidden, Nakamura-san. Let go of me."

"Tch. Then why were that bastard's hands all over you?"

"What? His hands weren't all over me…besides, he's my friend. Don't talk about him like that."

"Friend? _Friend?_" The word enrages the man, and he squeezes her wrists roughly, no doubt bruising her skin. "Don't lie to me!"

Meiko lets out a cry of pain.

"_Ow!_ Let go, Nakamura-san!"

Pissed off now, Taichi storms over to give the idiot a piece of his mind, but someone beats him to the punch. Mimi unexpectedly flies in from the opposite end of the corridor, a silver tray held as a weapon. Before anyone can react, she brings in down on Nakamura's head with a yell.

Mimi points her finger accusingly at the delinquent as he grasps his skull, stumbling away from Meiko.

"You broke the Café Rules. That's absolutely _unforgivable_. Get out and don't come back." Brandishing the silver tray once more does the trick, preventing an onslaught of insults from the man, and pride wounded, he flees the premises.

"Mimi…"

"Are you okay, Meimei!? Did he hurt you?" Mimi puts her hands on the other girl's shoulders and looks her over, hissing as she spots the dark bruising around Meiko's wrists.

"Mm, thanks to you, I'm okay."

"I can't believe he finally cornered you, he should have been kicked out the minute he started getting pushy."

"It's okay, he's gone now. We won't be seeing him again…I hope."

Listening attentively to their conversation, Taichi clears his throat to get them to notice him. Mimi turns in surprise as Meiko smiles at him.

"Wah, what are you doing here?"

"I came looking for Mochizuki, I got worried when she didn't come out."

"Eh," Mimi's concerned tone switches into a playful one. "In that case, take her straight home so she can rest."

Meiko startles.

"Um, I'm still wearing my uniform-"

"No need to worry Meimei, you're with Taichi." Gently pushing the black-haired girl in his direction, Mimi flashes a peace sign in their direction.

"I'll call you later. Right now, I'm going to sort out some paperwork."

OoO

Sensing her hair tickle the back of his neck, he shifts a little, revelling in the way her arms tighten around his waist as the bike glides over the concrete.

"Mochizuki?"

"Hm?"

"Who was that guy? You seemed to be familiar with him."

Meiko exhales shakily, cheek pressed against his back sleepily.

"Um, since Mimi and I started working at the Café, he came in almost every day – to see me." She pauses and Taichi slows the bike down, listening attentively. "I tried treating him like any other customer, but I could tell it was getting to him. But I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no, so I acted kind of oblivious when he flirted with me. And seeing you today, he must have snapped."

"Oh. Did he follow you to the office?"

"Yes, I was about to unlock the door but he confronted me."

"It's a good thing Mimi was there."

Meiko laughs softly and Taichi brightens up at the sound.

"You were there too, thank you, for coming to find me."

The boy clears his throat, slightly embarrassed but pleased. He sees their apartment building in the distance and gradually speeds up.

"Uh, so what are you doing when you get home?"

"Probably make myself something to eat as my parents are out. And yourself?"

"Well…"

"Want to come over?"

"Huh?"

"Oh um, I thought you could come over if you have nothing to do." The pitch of her voice turns uncertain as they ride into the apartment entrance.

"As long as I'm not intruding, sure, what are you making?"

"Tempura Udon. Is that okay?"

"Sounds great." They get off the bicycle, Taichi locking it into its usual place. "I'll come over after a bit, gotta tell mum I'm back."

"Okay." She begins to head over to her apartment before stopping and facing him. "Yagami-kun? I'm glad you came today." He nods, about to respond but something else comes out of his mouth instead.

"Are you going to keep that maid uniform on?" As soon as he says it, he wants to smack himself on the face.

Meiko blinks.

"Why, do you want me to keep it on?" It's too dark to tell but Taichi just _knows _she's as red as a cherry. Her hands smack over her mouth.

"I- sorry, that's not what I was going to say. I'll just, _see you later!_" The last three words are screeched at him as she escapes, practically running as her hair trails after her like a shiny shadow.

Taichi watches her go, slack jawed, both dreading and anticipating the upcoming evening.

A/N

You know what? I just can't see Mimi calling anyone 'Master' or 'Mistress'. If anything, it would be the other way around.

The song in the summary is sung by Misawa Sachika - it reminded me of this pairing when I first heard it.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
